The massive sell-off of shares at the Dubai Financial Market on Wednesday erased one year’s gains at the bourse, forcing the index down 6.39 per cent to 1533.36 points. The DFM year-to-day balance now shows a drop of 6.29 per cent.

Dubai Islamic Bank lost 9.95 per cent, Arabtec fell by 9.90 per cent while heavyweight Emaar lost 9.86 per cent.

The sales are boosted by a widespread fear among investors that restructuring of Dubai’s companies could be hampered by raising capital costs.

In Abu Dhabi, the ADX index dropped by 2.82 per cent at 2467.04 points.